Google receives almost six million URL removal requests during August

Search engine giant Google has revealed that it received almost six million URL removal requests during August (2012) in a monthly update to its Transparency Report Page.

It received 1.49 million requests during the last week of August alone - representing massive increase on the 124,860 requests received during the same week in August 2011. The rise in requests could be attributed to Google's July announcement, in which it stated it would punish the rankings of sites featuring illegally copyrighted material.

The Transparency Report revealed that Google received 814,177 requests from the Recording Association of America (RIAA), 681,227 from Microsoft and 554,959 from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). This isn't particularly surprising though as those within the film, music and software industries have long argued that websites offering illegally copyrighted material impede their ability to market - both offline, via traditional advertising, and online, via various Internet marketing methods - their products.

Any removal requests made to Google are so under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This act ensures that search engines providing access to sites offering pirated material aren't left liable, providing they comply with removal requests submitted by those who hold the copyrights.

Interestingly, ClickZ has reported that the information provided on the Transparency Report Page doesn't include the number of requests Google actually acted on.